The lack of an efficient and convenient system to locate an unknown electronic mail address is a major factor affecting the convenience and efficiency of electronic communication.
Electronic mail addresses can range from descriptive and easy to recall addresses that are based on a person's name or profession, to complex addresses that are difficult for people to remember or locate by simple rules.
No pattern or standard has been set for the structure of electronic mail addresses which would allow easy indexing and location by people wanting to find an individual's electronic mail address.
This is in marked contrast to the world's telephonic systems, where the number (address) is allocated centrally according to a national pattern. The referencing information attached to this telephone number is also collected in a uniform way. This standardisation allows indexing by district or name and address and can be made available to potential users of the telephonic system in a variety of convenient ways.